SoCS — Do Not

This post is part of Linda G Hill’s “Stream of Consciousness Saturday” — Click and read, click and join in! Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: “naught/knot/not.” Use one, use ‘em all… you know the drill! Have fun!

Ok, Linda, here goes the rant. You have given me the opening. Normally I won’t talk too much about my work here, and certainly notto complain, because I love my job. That being said, I normally love to leave my work at work, and “Forty, C’est Fantastique” is for the stuff I actually work FOR. Discussing work here would come to naught.

However…I have had this on my mind since yesterday when my jaw fell on the floor after a passenger made the most insensitive, rude, thoughtless, disrespectful remark I have heard in a long time. After the tragedy of the GermanWings airplane which crashed in the French Alps last week, there have been many articles and speculations about the last moments of this flight, and the possibility of the pilot in question having a mental illness which drove him to crash this plane full of people. I’m not going to discuss the speculations, not at all. I will only say that no matter what happened, this is a sad situation, not only because so many people lost their lives and their loved ones, but also because the media feels compelled to place blame and cause sensation and fear. The reality is that this was a tragic situation, possibly involving mental illness, that it is notan everyday occurrence, it is not a reason to fear flying, and is not a reason to do what this lady did yesterday.

So here is what not to do after a tragic accident: Yesterday, a woman got on my plane, leaned up towards the cockpit and said in a high-pitched voice, “So…are we all happy up there today?? Nobody depressed or anything up there, hey? ‘Cuz I want to get home safely to my doggies! (hee hee hee)” She actually went on a bit further, but I blocked it out. I heard this, I ignored her, and I seethed. How utterly disrespectful to those who lost their lives and their families. How insensitive to the family of the man who felt compelled to drive that plane into the mountains. How belittling of our profession. How rude. And really, What. The. Heck ??? Who says something like that? Really lady? You need to get home to your…doggies? I have this to say to you, Anonymous Lady With The Big Mouth:

When you bought that airline ticket, you put your trust in a company to get you safely from A to B. If you no longer trust us to do that job for whatever reason, it is on you to return your ticket and find an alternate means of transport. It is not appropriate to insinuate to us on your way onto the plane in a loud voice that we are incapable of doing our job because you have bought into a fear propagated by a sensationalist media about our profession. Trying to voice your fears by making light of a tragedy in this manner isnot appropriate, and not amusing. I understand that you may be afraid to fly. It is perfectly fine to voice your fear. It is perfectly fine to ask questions. I would be happy to address any legitimate concerns which you voice in a respectful manner. Do not try to tell me you know anything about what it takes to do my job because you “saw it on MSNBC.” Do not make disparaging remarks about people you do not know who just went through the worst day of their lives.

I’ve heard these things before. Every time there is an airline accident, people read the news, get scared, and make awful remarks. When fatigue was blamed for the accident in Buffalo: “So…we all rested up, up there? You guys get enough sleep? heh heh…”

After the Asiana crash in San Francisco: “So…I need to know…how many hours do you guys have?”

And sometimes just because they see a female “up front.” “ooh, it’s a girl pilot!”

What do you expect me to say? “No, sir, I stayed up until 3am and got up at 5. I’ve had a coffee, so I figure we’re all good to go.” Really? It’s a stupid question. And the hours? First of all, if you had any idea what that even meant, you wouldn’t ask. Again, If you don’t trust me to do my job, I suggest you drive, or fly yourself. As for me being female, well, yes. And we can vote too!

Sorry, guys. Rant over. Hopefully for the century 🙂 I promise to not write any more posts about the insensitive things passengers say. I know it is not becoming. And 99.9% of the time, our passengers are truly fantastic. I realize this lady was probably just scared of flying in general and had no idea how she came across. I promise next time I will try not to take it personally.

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29 Responses to “SoCS — Do Not”

Kelli – it’s good to release the anger and frustration, and you used the perfect vehicle (no pun) to do so. It’s also good you keep it in perspective because most of us do have good intentions with occasional verbal slip ups. She was incredibly insensitive, and I imagine remained clueless to her insensitivity.

I hope that you feel better now after letting your frustration about such a woman out. We are many who trust you with our lives and fly without thinking bad about you at all. Some people are rude, and this woman belongs in that category. It was a very sad accident and no matter where the responsibility ends up, it is still sad.
Very good post, take care of yourself 😀

Don’t you think of a million good comebacks later and wish you could say them? Like, “my psychiatrist signed the note for me to return to work so I’m good to go.” I think many people have to be tense flying and especially after there has been a big crash. I do not think about the pilots being at fault. I might question airline policies. Some things can not be anticipated.

I’m with Joey – excellent rant. I don’t know if I’d have been able to ignore what she said. Of all the nerve!! Some people are just so thoughtless!
Happy you were able to get it off your chest, Kelli. Sometimes we need the type of support we can only get here in this community.

I read this some hours ago, in the middle of the night I tend to read when I can’t sleep, and I felt an outrage at the behaviour of your passenger. People can be very insensitive. As you say I doubt she was aware she making offense. Your job is highly skilled and I know when I fly in a few weeks that the pilots will have my great confidence in fact I doubt I’ll even think of them as the plane takes off and lands that’s the understanding I think we have these days flying around the world. Michael.

A good rant like this one is healthy every now and then. The anonymous lady with the big mouth might have been nervous or afraid, but that’s no excuse. She might also have an unhealthy desire for attention, pre-adolescent social skills, and/or she could suffer from mental illness herself. I agree, you did well not to respond negatively (out loud) especially since she was bordering on being disruptive to the well-being of everyone present. I’m glad she didn’t keep it up too long. I hope you continue to have pleasant passengers. Oh, and I loved this: “…and we can vote, too.”

Yeah, I say that to myself all the time. Thankfully I have the presence of mind (so far) to not say it aloud to the offenders! funny thing, quite often the people who make the “woman pilot” comments are…women! C’est bizarre!

Wow, I can’t believe that woman said that. The amount of insulting insinuations she managed to cram in that sentence is quite mind blowing. Well done you for rising above it and staying calm. She doesn’t deserve an answer or any kind of attention – what she said strikes me more as a cheap attempt to provoke and get attention than someone with legitimate concerns and questions.
(And that was a great rant, definitely glad you posted that up there, it’s quite eye opening to hear what some people say!)